MakitaMAC700 2.0 HP* Big Bore™ Air Compressor

It is very rare indeed that I buy anything that is not defective, no matter how much the item cost. This was more so a consideration for me when I read all the problems customers had after receiving their Amazon shipped MAC 700. This was an exception!I've owned quite a few Makita power tools, and have not had any issue with any of those until my impact driver batteries started going bad two years ago. I just replaced that with a Hitachi Micro from Amazon recently, and I am very pleased so far with that purchase. That is the only Makita tool I have ever replaced. Had there been a source of reliable new stock batteries for it, I would have had no reason to replace that tool either.Due to my exceptional track record owning Makita products and the excellent service with Amazon, I opted to settle on a "middle of the road" sized compressor. Having a very bad back, anything larger/heavier was simply out of the question. I could not deal with another noisy pancake compressor.I received the MAC 700 yesterday. WOW! I was astounded to unpack the compressor and not find one problem with it. This is the only compressor I have ever owned that used oil. My contracting days are way behind me and prior to this I have only owned a Sears Industrial pancake 1.5HP, 4 gal compressor. It served my needs for over 15 years and I felt it was beginning to strain when topping off the tank lately. Since I keep the compressor in the kitchen (no garage and way too heavy to lug up and down the basement),I NEEDED a quieter compressor. This MAC 700 is it!The Makita is SO quiet compared to the Sears pancake you have to hear it to appreciate the difference. I did not run into any of the reported issues with the tag wire going into the crankcase, no broken or missing parts, or anything else previous buyers have had an issue with.It takes just over one minute to fill the tank. It is only slightly smaller than the Sears 4 gal, but not much lighter, if at all. Nonetheless, this is a very nice unit. My only concern would be the drain valve is way too close to the ground for potential, accidental damage. I would have liked to have seen the drain valve (best I have ever seen) placed elsewhere on the tank or designed a little differently.I have no intention of using it for the same reasons I had bought the larger tank Sears unit when I was contracting, or used for painting large projects. This was bought for the occasional tire inflation, vacuum cleaner bag and A/C filter cleaning etc. I keep this on a dolly for easy transport anywhere in the house, and the carpeted dolly helps reduce the noise as well.I also bought the 135 PSI, 5 gal Sears Air Tank ($24) and installed QD fittings ($15) so all my compressor accessories would fit both the compressor and the air tank, eliminating the need to carry the compressor in the basement for small jobs such as blowing out the drain line on the dehumidifier.Another very satisfied purchase from Amazon!

This is a great compressor coming from someone who used a 0.5 HP pancake compressor in the past. It's decently quiet. I watched videos of this compressor running against typical pancake compressors, but the difference is more noticeable in person. It's not the quietest compressor out there, but you can have a conversation with this nearby without having to raise your voice. The RPM is lower, and the sound is much less obnoxious than some of the cheaper compressors I've used.It fills quickly, up to 130ish PSI in under a minute. I've tested my unit when it arrived after the break-in procedure, and it held air overnight, only losing 5 PSI, which is probably attributable to the temperature lowering during the period I left it full.Speaking of the break-in, it comes with enough oil to fill the unit. You need to attach the filter, fill the crankcase with oil, and run it for 20 minutes with the drain valve open. I drained the oil and refilled it with fresh 30W non detergent compressor oil after break-in to make sure any contaminants were flushed.The unit is decently portable. The handle is comfortable and it weighs about 50 lbs, so it's not too heavy.Overall, the quality of the fittings is pretty good. The drain valve is easy to use, and the fit and finish feel better than what I would expect from a $250 compressor. I'll update this review as I use it more.

I have been researching different air compressors for home use for about two weeks. I looked mostly at the oil free ones and the reviews on several brands and types were pretty mixed. I stumbled on to the MAC 700 and read many of the reviews and the only three major complaints were it's heavy, the manual is lousy, and the chances of it showing up damaged is pretty good. The actual reviews for performance were very good. I didn't find one complaint on how the compressor performed. I have several Makita tools and have always been impressed with the quality. I decided to take a chance on the damage, so I orderd my compressor on Sunday night and received it on Wednesday (Free 2 Day Shipping). When it arrived there was no damage to the box. I opened it up and the packing inside the box left a lot to be desired. I can see now how it cold get damaged. I inspected the unit and there was no physicall damage to it. Everyone was right, the manual is pretty bad. I went on You Tube and found two video's that showed you how to break it in and how a compressor actually works. You do have to be careful filling the oil. You only fill it to the middle of the sight glass. I found that once you started it, the oil level went down and I had to add just a little more. Don't add too much at a time or you will overfill it. Mine took a little over 3/4 of a bottle. The manual says to run it for a minimum of 20 minutes with the drain valve open to break it in. I figured 20 is good, so 60 would be better. I ran it for 60 minutes and then shut the drain valve and it went to maximum pressure in no time at all. I hooked up my new Framing Nailer and tested it. Worked great ! I haven't actually done any work with it yet, but will be soon.Here's my take, so far:Pluses:1. Pretty quiet for a compressor, I was quite suprised2. It's extremely well built, it's not cheap (that's why it's heavy)3. Very little vibration4. Rebuilds pressure pretty quicklyMinuses:1. Poor Manual2. It's pretty heavy for no bigger than it is3. I can't think of any moreSo far I'm impressed. I will be doing some remodeling with it in the next few weeks and will update this at that time.